Chicago Teachers Strike Continues

DRIVING THE DAY

CHICAGO TEACHERS STRIKE: More than 30,000 Chicago public school educators and staff in the nation's third largest school district remain out on the picket line for the fifth school day, despite Mayor Lori Lightfoot request that the teachers end their walkout without a contract, POLITICO's Nicole Gaudiano reports. The strike began last Thursday, a work stoppage that affects 360,000 students.  The walkout has drawn the support of Democratic presidential candidates including former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also joined teachers on Tuesday with American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. Bargaining meetings continued Tuesday between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union, but most of the union bargaining team returned to the picket lines. "They won't waste their time trying to talk to a brick wall," CTU President Jesse Sharkey said. On Tuesday evening Chicago Public Schools announced on Twitter that classes were once again canceled today. "CTU has not scheduled a House of Delegates vote, which would be necessary to end their strike," CPS tweeted.  CTU members said Sunday night that they're still negotiating over class size, school staffing, and paraprofessional pay, Gaudiano reports. "The city has proposed a 16 percent salary increase over five years and committed in writing to providing support for oversized classes, a framework for enforceable targets on reducing class sizes first in high poverty schools, and putting one nurse and [one] social worker in every school, Lightfoot has said." More from POLITICO.